Same Page
by NaleyWriter23
Summary: After five years of dating Nathan Scott, Haley James is ready for the next step in their relationship. But the question is, is he?


Every woman - whether they are willing to admit it or not - was once a little girl with a fantasy of a fairytale wedding; they've dreamt about their perfect dress; the color of the flowers; the grand aisle on the beach, or the garden, or their childhood church; the moment their fathers give them away to the man worthy of forever. And, of course, what the ring will look like on their left finger - right down to the shape and size of the sparkling diamond.

Even Haley James, fiercely independent since the second she exited her mother's womb, had these exact thoughts - though, she'd probably fall under the category of the girls who would never admit it.

Until now.

The fairytale-wedding-fantasy was as intense as ever, only, the most plaguing question simplified into one single word: when?

_When was Nathan Scott going to propose? _

Haley typically considered herself a patient person, but, as they were about to enter the fifth year of their relationship, she couldn't help but wonder when Nathan was going to ask her to marry him.

It was only natural that marriage was the next step. They already lived together - in fact, it was almost two years since she'd moved in - plus, they were raising a puppy together. And, dammit, Haley James was ready to be Haley Scott. Nathan was the man she would spend every morning waking up next to, she knew the moment he offered to buy her a drink at the bar she almost didn't go to (Thanks, Brooke for dragging her there after a shitty day at work).

It also didn't help matters that Haley received yet _another_ wedding invitation from a college friend, who had only been with her boyfriend for less than two years before he popped the question. Haley hated the way the jealousy had crawled across her skin when the proposal video played on her Instagram feed. It was cute. Too cute. It pissed her off. When would it be her turn?

Haley was so done being the bridesmaid. She lost track of how many weddings she'd already been in - sadly, none of which were her own.

It was starting to get to the point where she no longer cared about where or how the proposal happened. She'd marry Nathan in the back of a pick-up truck if he asked- Hell, she wouldn't even mind a Vegas wedding in McDonalds. Haley just wanted nothing more than to turn the page to begin their next chapter, together, as a married couple. She was his, and he was hers. All they had to do was make it official so the rest of the world would know.

"Hey, baby."

Haley heard his voice, then felt his lips graze the top of her forehead before he walked around the couch to plop down next to her. Duke, their white lab, was curled up on the other side of her and only briefly peeled one eye open to investigate why the couch cushion had sank.

"Hi," Haley grinned and inhaled the crisp scent of his shower gel. He smelled like the ocean after it rained; it was a scent she wished she could wear as a perfume.

"Whacha' doin'?"

Maybe it was the one too many glasses of wine she'd consumed with dinner, but Haley didn't even hesitate to show Nathan her phone screen. It was a jewelry website. Specifically, a page with engagement rings photos.

She wasn't desperate, just curious. Ok, slightly desperate. She'd be thirty next year!

"Looking at rings," she tried to sound as casual as his question was, but Haley's heart rate spiked as she studied his face to gage his reaction.

He coughed slightly, then covered the initial shock with his thick, furrowed eyebrows, "oh."

Usually Haley could read Nathan like a book, but this time, his face was a plain book. No cover.

"What do you think?"

Bait.

Nathan scratched the stubble lining his sharp jaw, "I dunno, I'm not much of a ring guy. My fingers are too fat."

Haley rolled her eyes, smiling, "not for you. Me."

"I guess they're nice," he shrugged disinterestedly, "but what for?"

She wanted to scream. Why are men so dense?

"They're engagement rings, Nathan," she said clearly, "I think it's time we start planning for the future."

Haley's eyes carefully continued their deep exploration of his face. There was a slight frown slanting across his mouth, like the slope of a diagonal line. What did it mean?

Sure, she was being forward, but they'd been together long enough for this conversation not to scare him away. It's not the first time they talked about the future, either. He always said 'we' whenever future plans were involved - there were quite a few instances when he'd gone so far as to mention future children, too.

"Yeah, about that…" the words were shaky, like the vibrations of a bad piano note. He inhaled a heavy breath, "I don't want to get married."

Pop.

And just like that, Haley's dream was punctured with the sharpest needle.

"What?"

She flinched as if his words carried enough weight to physically harm her.

Nathan raked his fingertips through his raven-black hair. The sigh that escaped his lips heavy enough to drag his shoulders south, "it's not that I don't want to marry _you_, Hales, it's just - I've never wanted to get married."

"Ever?"

He shook his head. She could see the regret in his eyes. It was a sucker-punch straight to the throat.

"I'm sorry."

Haley moved further on the couch, accidentally sitting on Duke, who let out a small squeak.

"And you're telling me this now? After five years?" Her voice got louder with each syllable.

Nathan shuddered, "I thought you knew."

"Well, I didn't," she snapped, then jumped up, scaring both Nathan and Duke, "so excuse me for feeling a little caught off guard right now!"

"You know how messy my parents' divorce was," it sounded like a lame excuse, but it was the truth. His parents never had a healthy marriage and their bitter divorce stayed with Nathan like a scar that never healed, "I don't want that."  
"Not every marriage ends in a divorce, Nathan," her tone was quieter now, but there was still a harsh sting to the words. He watched her pace in front of him.

"I know that," he tried to reach for her hand, anything to soothe the exploding tension between them, but she pulled away, "but I still don't see the point. It's just a stupid piece of paper. And weddings are ridiculously overpriced! It's all one big stupid show for people we probably won't even talk to in ten year. I just don't see the appeal to it. And I really don't need any of that to prove my love for you."

"What are you saying?" She stopped pacing.

"I'm saying, I want to spend the rest of my life with you Hales, but we don't need to get married to do that."

"Are you kidding me right now?"

It was difficult to determine the true meaning behind her words. He couldn't tell her mood anymore. It was all too murky.

"Look, I'm sorry, okay?," Nathan tried coaxing again, "I didn't know it would upset you this much. I thought we were on the same page."

"Why didn't you tell me sooner?"

Uh-oh. Now the tears were coming. She stopped yelling. Now she just looked deflated. Nathan prefered the anger. Anything was better than the tears.

"Baby, please don't cry," he pleaded, "let's talk about this."

"I don't even know what to say to you right now," Haley wiped at her red cheeks where a stray tear had fallen.

"Tell me you understand and that you still love me?"

She sniffled, "God, of course I love you Nathan, but I'm sorry, I really don't understand any of this. How could you not want to get married?"

"I just don't," he swallowed, "but it doesn't have to mean that I love you less."

"I don't-" Haley shook her head, rubbing her wrists furiously at her temples. Why couldn't this be a bad dream? She felt like she'd woken up in a different reality. Her entire future just changed course in a matter of minutes, "I'm . . ."

"Upset?" He supplied, "I know. And I'll give you all the time you need to process this, but baby, I don't want anything to change between us. I love you."

Haley turned so her back was facing him. She didn't want him to see the stream of tears raining down her face. It was all too much.

"Hales?" Nathan stood up and gently turned her back around. She collapsed against his chest and choked on a sob.

"This is going to change things, Nathan. It's inevitable."

"It doesn't have to," he desperately replied, "I'll get you a ring, if that's what you want. We can still have a family. We can-"

"I don't want a pity ring!" He watched her nostrils flare. The anger returned with more fire, "I don't even want a fancy wedding. You know me. I want what marriage symbolizes," she started pacing again. "Faith. Trust. Eternal Love. The vows, Nathan! The promises!"

"And we can still have that!" Nathan argued lightly, "marriage licenses are just a stupid formality."

"Oh, that's just great, Nathan," she muttered sarcastically, "tell me how you really feel! Apparently the thought of marrying me must be really stupid!"

"That's not what I said! Don't put words in my mouth," he yelled.

Duke watched their fight with somber eyes. He didn't want to alert attention to his presence, but he also wanted to run far from the couch.

"That's what it seems like," Haley yelled back, "I mean, why else wouldn't you want to get married?"

"I just told you," he threw his hands up in the air, then let his arms collapse against his legs, "we can have everything married couples have without needing to sign a legal document."

"Why are you afraid of a piece of paper?" The room was spinning. "Do you not trust that we're going to be together forever?"

"Of course I do," Nathan huffed, "if anyone isn't trusting our relationship right now, it's you! Why do I need to put a ring on your hand to make you believe me?"

"It's what couples do!" She screamed. He wondered if the neighbors could hear. There was a long pause. He was afraid to speak. She was out of breath and so was he.

"Fuck, Nathan!" Haley fell back onto the couch. Exhaustion was seeping in. They were only running in endless circles. No one would win, "what are we going to do?"

"I don't know," he sat across from her on the coffee table. Duke jumped down and scurried into the kitchen. He looked into her glossy eyes. She was chewing on her lower lip, thinking.

"This changes things," she repeated her earlier words, but this time she didn't want to mean them.

"I know," he whispered.

"I want to marry you, Nathan. More than anything."

He hung his head, "I'm sorry."

"I don't want to marry anyone else."

"I wouldn't want you to."

Haley let another tear fall onto her lap. She sniffled, "but I don't know if I can do this."

"What?" This got his attention. He snapped his head straight, no longer studying the palms of his hands.

"One of us isn't going to be happy, and I don't want us resenting one another in a few years…"

"Hales," Nathan interjected, "come on. We don't need to go there right now-,"

"It's a lot to process right now," Haley breathed. "I need time. Space. I have to think."

He didn't know what to say so he just nodded lamely. She was hurting and he was to blame.

"I'm going to Quinn's," Haley stated before standing from her spot on the couch. She didn't look over her shoulder at him, just headed straight for their bedroom.

Nathan was at war with himself - was he to get up and convince her to stay, or let her have time to cool off? He had to do something, that much he knew. He couldn't simply sit there and wait for the door to slam. Tentatively, his feet padded their way through the hall until they landed in the doorway, where he stood to watch Haley tear through their closet and grab whatever she could to pack for her sister's house.

Should he help her? Should he say something? Plead with her to stay? The answer swayed between yes and no, suspended in midair like the remnant of a cobweb. His bare feet ended up staying rooted to the hardwood floor, stuck. Scared. Because the future was unfolding in a messy blur - like a shaky polaroid, waiting for the light to develop what was too late to be undone.

Words, at this point, would do nothing but shake the silence.

Haley felt Nathan's presence but refused to look toward the door. She needed to find a suitcase, something to throw the random clothes scattered along the floor into. Through the blind rage of flying hangers, she found his old duffel bag dumped at the back of the closet and hastily unzipped the top. Just as she was about to stuff a load of clothes inside, she caught sight of a black box at the bottom of the bag.

She was vaguely aware of the scratchy, panicked sound of Nathan's voice echoing behind her, for she was already cradling the box in her hands before he could stop her. Curiosity bled through her fingers as she flipped the velvet lid upwards on its tight hinges. A squeak tore through the room. She dropped the box on the bed as if it'd burned her flesh.

Of all the things Haley could have found, a diamond ring was the last one she would have expected.

She used her palms to cover the perfectly shaped 'o' her lips had formed.

In a flash, Nathan was beside her with the opened box in his left hand, desperately struggling to give her questioning eyes an answer.

He could lie, say he was hiding it for a friend, but the plan was already ruined. He couldn't hurt her anymore than he already had.

"Wha- what is that, Nathan?" Haley snuck another quick look at the diamond ring, just to make sure her eyes weren't deceiving her. It was still there; in the shape of a perfect raindrop, winking at her with its sparkling silver band.

"I didn't want to do it this way," he said shakily. The box rattled in his palm. Her eyes flickered between his tear-filled eyes and the ring. Both made her heart lerch into her stomach.

"But I thought- you said…-"

He chuckled huskily, "I lied."

"Oh my God," Haley's eyes too, now filled with a fresh coat of tears. She couldn't believe this was happening, "I'm such a bitch."

Nathan laughed again, "no, you're not. I'm an asshole."

She looked at the ring again, smiling, "why?"

"I had a whole plan," he sighed before continuing a breathless ramble, "I was going to ask you when we went to London, but I didn't want you to be suspicious so I panicked when you showed me a picture of the ring on your phone, so I lied and then it completely backfired-"

"Wait? London? When are we going there?"

Nathan groaned through his grin. He just ruined the other surprise, "you just can't let a guy plan a surprise proposal, can you?" He joked.

Haley sniffled through her own bout of giggles, "I didn't mean to find the ring."

"I know," he took hold of her shaking hand, "but I'm kinda glad you did. I didn't want you to hate me forever."

"You're a good actor, Nathan Scott. You really had me going there."

"I'm sorry," he said again, "I'm stupid."

"No you're not," she squeezed his hand and gave him a reassuring smile, but he gestured to her packed duffle bag.

"I almost made you leave."

"Okay, so maybe it was a little bit of a bad plan, but you're not stupid, baby."

Nathan leaned over to place a soft kiss on her cheek before he gently lowered himself onto one knee, "any man lucky enough to be with you would be the biggest idiot if he didn't put a ring on your finger," he started, "I'm sorry this isn't the perfect proposal you deserve, but Haley James, I love you more than I could ever possibly prove to you. I wanted to marry you the minute I met you. I know I should've done this sooner, but I could never find the right words, or the right moment. But I don't care about any of that anymore. I don't ever want to lose you. I want you to be my wife more than anything in the world. I want you to be Mrs. Scott, always and forever. So, Haley, will you ma-?"

"Wait!" She interjected, "stop."

Nathan's eyes widened, "what?"

"Don't."

"Don't?" He nearly fell over.

"I mean, you said you had a plan, right?"

"Well, yeah but you already found the ring and -"

"So you can still surprise me," she smiled, "it doesn't have to be like this."

He pouted, "but I don't want to wait any more."

Haley couldn't help but laugh; the entire situation was the definition of ironic. Just twenty minutes ago, she thought he never wanted to get married, now he was all but begging her.

"It's ok. There's no rush," she knelt down to join him on the floor and he sarcastically rolled his eyes, "we waited this long, right? You deserve to propose the way you wanted to."

"Oh really, no rush?" He teased.

"Well," she bit her lip coyly, "just don't make me wait another year."

He laughed, "okay. Deal."

"I love you, Nathan," Haley kissed him quickly, then looked longingly at the ring, "and I love this ring."

"Yeah?"

"It's perfect," she nodded, blinking away the tears, "thank you."

"You could wear it you know, if you didn't just say no to my proposal-"

"I didn't say no," she playfully pushed his shoulder, "I'd marry you right now if I could, but you seem really excited about the plan. But just so you know, this proposal was pretty perfect, too."

Nathan kissed the smile right off her lips. Little did she know, next week, at this time, they'd be on their plane to London where he'd ask her, again, to marry him - right at the top of The Eye. And, obviously, she would say yes.

Again.


End file.
